A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is adapted from a swuhbah from Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani ( q.s. ), on the 16 th March 2010.   Are we able to accept that Allah ( s.w.t. ) can Send His help to us even by an ant?   Though our minds may not fully understand how this may be possible, the heart can accept such a possibility.   To understand is difficult, as there is a limit to our ability to understand.   But to have faith is easy, since there is no limit to a man’s ability to believe.   That is a special Grant that Allah ( s.w.t. ) has Bestowed upon us.   Our capacity to believe is endless.   We can never understand everything in life.   There is much that we simply accept with faith.   If the abilities of every person were joined together into a single human being, that fusion super-human would still be unable to understand every single creature on this planet.   Even the Quthb al-Mutaswswarif , the S...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu Nu’aym Ahmad ibn ‘Abdullah al-Aswbahani ( r.a. ) reported in his Hilyat al-Awliya’ , through Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ), from Sayyidina ‘Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl ‘Amr ( r.a. ), that Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sakhr ad-Dawsi az-Zahrani al-Azdi ( r.a. ) said, “Verily, I turn to Allah ( s.w.t. ) asking Forgiveness and repenting to Him 12,000 times every day.” This atsar is reported, by Imam Abu Nu’aym ( r.a. ), in this manner, in his Hilyat al-Awliya’ , and is mentioned by Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani ( r.a. ), in his Iswabah , as being reported by Shaykh Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Sa‘d ( r.a. ).   Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ibn ‘Abd al-Lathif al-Miswri ( r.a. ) declared this atsar swahih .   A review of the chain will attest to such a grading. Shaykh Ibrahim ibn Ziyad ( r.a. ) was declared tsiqah , impeccably trustworthy, by Imam Yahya ibn Ma’in ( r.a. ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is adapted from a swuhbah from Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani ( q.s. ) on the 23 rd March 2010.   The first thing that we must learn is that we are servants to the Lord of Creation.  That is the foundation of all teachings brought by all the prophets so we must teach this to our children from the moment they are able to understand.  And we must remind ourselves of this all our lives.   The second fundamental teaching is that we must be thankful to our Prophet ( s.a.w. ) for being part of his ummah and we must be proud of him.  We must constantly send swalawat upon him for the angels are unceasing in their praises for him, and Allah ( s.w.t. ) Showers him with goodness continuously.   The ego likes to be praised.  It likes to be hailed and idolised.  It likes to inflate itself to be far bigger than it really is.  It likes to be respected, to be noticed, to be admire...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is taken from “Meet Yusuf Islam: The Artist Formerly Known as Cat Stevens” by James Sullivan, 01 st October 2010.   The name of the singer’s first single was “I Love My Dog.”  From the beginning, Cat Stevens was a star in Britain.  “Matthew and Son,” his second song to hit the charts, was kept out of the UK No. 1 spot in early 1967, only by the Monkees’, “I’m a Believer.”  The young man who would become pop’s biggest believer had the first of his epiphanies shortly thereafter.  After recording two albums’ worth of heavily orchestrated pop songs including, “The First Cut is the Deepest”, the reckless, swinging Londoner fell ill with a case of tuberculosis and a collapsed lung.  A year in convalescence led to deep self-examination.  By the time the former Steven Demetre Georgiou resurfaced in 1970, he was the quintessential earnest singer-songwriter.   In his new guise, Stevens became an inte...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is adapted from a swuhbah from Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani ( q.s. ) on the 04 th December 2010.   Shaythan was the first trouble-maker amongst Creation.   Our suffering and punishments come from obedience to Shaythan .   Adam ( a.s. ) was Ejected from Paradise because of Iblis.   Every prophet has come to warn his ummah of the Devil and his helpers.   But many are still obedient to Shaythan .   They love their enemy.   They adore the sinful and decadent lifestyle that he espouses.   That is a fact in today’s world.   People abhor the teachings of the prophets, and they adore the way of the defiant.   سُوۡرَةُ یسٓ ۞ أَلَمۡ أَعۡهَدۡ إِلَيۡكُمۡ يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ أَن لَّا تَعۡبُدُواْ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنَ‌ۖ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَكُمۡ عَدُوٌّ۬ مُّبِينٌ۬ (٦٠)   “Did I not Enjoin on you, O you children of Adam, that you should not worship Satan; for that he was to you an enem...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is Shaykh Nur ad-Din Abu ‘Ubadah ‘Ali ibn Juma’ah,’s answer to the question of kissing the hands of scholars .  He was asked, since a lot of students and adepts kiss the hands of their teachers and guides, is this permissible?   The ways that people honour those that have rights over them differ with the different cultural norms of a given people.   We see, for example, that in the Arabian Peninsula, they kiss their fathers on the nose as a way of honouring them, and they kiss the heads of their scholars.   The original ruling of all of these things is that they are permissible so long as particular forms that Muslims may engage in have not been prohibited.   As for the question of kissing the hands of scholars, it is permissible to do so with a scrupulous scholar, a just ruler, one’s parents, one’s teacher, and anyone who is worthy of being honoured and respected.   According to Sayyidina ‘Ab...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is a transcript of a lecture given by Mawlana Wafi’ Muhammad.   Before we begin any swalah , we recite something very important.   سُوۡرَةُ الاٴنعَام إِنِّى وَجَّهۡتُ وَجۡهِىَ لِلَّذِى فَطَرَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ حَنِيفً۬ا‌ۖ وَمَآ أَنَا۟ مِنَ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ (٧٩)   “For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, toward Him Who Created the Heavens and the Earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah.” (Surah al-An’am:79)   Some do not understand the implication of this.   We are actually standing in front of Allah ( s.w.t. ) and He Sees the true condition of our hearts.   We cannot hide anything from Him.   In meditation, when we sit in front of our shaykh , he is actually looking at our heart and when our heart wavers, he is able to tell us.   If our shaykh can see our heart, what about Allah ( s.w.t. ) and His Rasul ( s.a.w. )?   This is why we think of sitting i...